O’Reilly: Inside RIA

In my last article I talked about growing the skill of time estimation, and the different levels there are to the skill. In this article I'm going to discuss the different types of estimates you can provide. It's important to be explicit in the type of estimate you are providing, and to make sure your audience understands the type of estimate that they are receiving. For instance, there's SWAG. A swag is a Stupid Wild Ass Guess. I've also heard the first S sometimes stand for super, or scientific or sophisticated. It's not to create a timeline from. It's not to set expectations, its simply to give a rough idea of how long something or a piece of something might take.

Estimating your time One of the soft skills you'll acquire as you progress in your career is a sense of how long it takes you to do certain tasks. You'll often be asked by your manager to come up with...

When it comes to the topic of estimating, my favorite line to throw back at the sad soul who is asking for some intangible number is - " I'll see your vague, my friend, and raise you a wide open"....